Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Unholy Alliance: Democratic Operatives and the Press

Associate Press "journalist" Travis Loller has apparently used Democratic talking points circulated in email by several politicians as the basis for this attack piece on Republican Fred Thompson.

The Associated Press should not be surprised, unless they hired Loller without bothering to check her history. Since the story ran in multiple outlets yesterday, John Hinderaker of Power Line has identified Ms. Loller as "...a left-wing activist. Mother Jones described her as a 'radical.'"

1. DNC talking point: “In his most recent stint in Washington, Thompson worked for a London company lobbying Congress to limit liability claims for asbestos-related illnesses. Over the past three years he’s made $760,000 fighting for the interests of his corporate clients.

“AP/CNN talking point: ”More recently, while Frist led the Senate, Thompson earned more than $750,000 lobbying for a British reinsurance company that wanted to limit its liability from asbestos lawsuits.

2. DNC Talking Point: “And just this month, as part of his role as the ultimate Washington insider, Thompson offered to host yet another fundraising event for Scooter Libby’s legal defense fund. Thompson has been vocal in his support of Libby, saying that he would “absolutely” pardon him.”

AP/CNN Talking Point: “Thompson also helped run the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Fund Trust, an organization that set out to raise more than $5 million to help finance the legal defense of Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, who was convicted in March of lying and obstructing Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leak of a CIA operative’s identity.”